HOW THIS MAN MADE DOS EQUIS A MOST INTERESTING MARKETING STORY

Like Jonathan Goldsmith, the beer
brand was once low-profile, but one
ad campaign changed their fortunes

■ BY E.J. SCHULTZ ESCHULTZ@ADAGE.COM

IT’S AN UNUSUALLY WARM JANUARY day in Los
Angeles, and Jonathan Goldsmith looks pretty uncomfortable in a turtleneck, wool sweater, thick black pants
and ski boots.

But when the cameras roll he is instantly cool, smiling and laughing as if he’s at a cocktail party – not a TV-commercial shoot in a back lot at Universal Studios.
With only a thin cable for a harness, Mr. Goldsmith
skids down a 15-foot-high wooden structure filled with
fake snow to look like a ski jump. He nails it. “Like the
wind,” he says at the bottom.

After all, when you are The Most Interesting Man
in the World, everything comes easily. Or at least it
looks as if it does.

In reality, Mr. Goldsmith’s stardom—and the rise of
the Dos Equis beer brand he represents—did not come
easily. Both are success stories decades in the making.
Mr. Goldsmith, 73, a longtime journeyman actor but
never a star, is now so big that Michael Jordan recently

See MOST INTERESTING MAN on Page 10

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MARCH 5, 2012

Why a falling
‘Idol’ is bad
for business
on Mad Ave

Aging show is losingratings steam, but there’sno other titan to replace it

■ BY BRIAN STEINBERG bsteinberg@adage.com

“AMERICAN IDOL” is falling, and
advertisers desperately need the giant
to get back up.

Fox’s veteran talent show has beentops on TV for its past six seasons andtraditionally commanded the highestprice for a 30-second ad spot. But muchlike “Idol” judge Steven Tyler, the showis starting to show gray in its 11th sea-son. As of Feb. 26, more viewers inadvertisers’ coveted 18-to-49 demo-graphic tuned into NBC’s “The Voice”(thanks to a post-Super Bowl launch),while 18-to-49 ratings for ABC’s“Modern Family” and CBS’s “The BigBang Theory” are approaching those of“Idol.”Though still a force, “Idol” is no

See AMERICAN IDOL on Page 21

Facebook warns
scale in social
won’t be free

■ BY COTTON DELO cdelo@adage.com

FACEBOOK IS ASKING marketers to
double down on their investment in
advertising and content in return for
an assurance that they’ll reach a sizable
share of the fan base they’ve been
growing for years. It always wants
them to rethink their very organizations and what an ad is.

The message: Social at scale will not
be free.

It was delivered at a grand event that

See FACEBOOK on Page 21

PHOTO BY ROGER SNIDER, COURTESY HEINEKEN USA

TIME-TRAVEL WITH ICONIC BRANDS

From Coca-Cola to Ford, Walmart, Tide and more,
Ad Age takes a look at some of the coolest brand
timelines on Facebook.